Which macro lens for photographing jewellery?

StewartR

StewartR

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I'd be grateful for help here because I'm w-a-a-a-y out of my depth.

We just had a customer ask for advice regarding macro lenses for photographing jewellery. He's tried it with a 50mm macro (on a Nikon D50), and found that he wasn't getting enough depth of field. So he's wondering whether he should try:
* a macro lens in the 90-105mm range
* an even longer macro lens - 150-200mm
* extension tubes on his 50mm
* extension tubes on a 100mm macro

Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks in advance.
 
Stewart,

I'm not sure about the Nikon equivalent but this is classic TS-E stuff and the TS-E45 or TS-E90 with a tube would be ideal. DOF is aperture and magnification so a longer FL isn't going to help too much.

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
I'm not sure about the Nikon equivalent but this is classic TS-E stuff and the TS-E45 or TS-E90 with a tube would be ideal.
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Ooh, interesting idea, Bob. I imagine there's a bit of a learning curve involved there, so I don't know whether the customer will be up for it, but I'll certainly mention it to him.

Any other views, folks?
 
StewartR said:
Ooh, interesting idea, Bob. I imagine there's a bit of a learning curve involved there, so I don't know whether the customer will be up for it, but I'll certainly mention it to him.

Any other views, folks?
Click to expand...

The learning curve on these lenses is really in the perspective correction field. The focal plane manipulation is pretty much shooting what you see and a few test shots should get the setup correct. Tilt the lens, focus in the middle (depthwise) of the subject and you're off.

Bob
 
Some numbers to start with
TS~E45 f/2.8 12mm tube 0.44~0.27x at 239~299mm 94~153 working distance. A 25mm tube is pretty much unuasble due to minimal working distance.
TS~E90 f/2.8 12mm tube 0.43~0.14x at 415~817mm 264~691working distance. With a 25mm tube 0.60~0.31x at 373~486mm 207~345 working distance.

Bob
 
Hi

I'm a newbie here and I think he may not need to buy a lens at all.

What about 'focus-stacking' of several images with different focal points - creating a merged image with apparent greater depth of field. Photoshop CS4 has this and I am sure there are other bits of software out there that offer the same.

Just a thought.

Regards

Pete
 
Suggesting different lenses is like piutting the card before the horse. There could easily be a sim[ple solution to depth of field problems.

First I would inquire; at what f/stop is he shooting? Perhaps simply stopping down to f/16 or so will provide the depth of field that he needs (if he is shooting at a larger f/stop). He might need to pump in some more light in order to get an f/stop like f/16. Using strobe lighting would be easier than using tungsten (continuous) light sourses since with strobe, you don't need to worry about shutter speed.

Additionally, setting up the jewelry so that the major portion is on a rather flat plane of focus might help.

Of course TSE style lenses can improve depth of field but, there is quite a steep learning curve involved in using that type of lens...
 
StewartR said:
...... So he's wondering whether he should try:
* a macro lens in the 90-105mm range
* an even longer macro lens - 150-200mm
* extension tubes on his 50mm
* extension tubes on a 100mm macro
Click to expand...

rpcrowe said:
Suggesting different lenses is like piutting the cart before the horse.....
Click to expand...

He was asking for suggestions about different lenses :shrug: and that's the business that Stewart's in.
 
Canon Bob said:
He was asking for suggestions about different lenses :shrug: and that's the business that Stewart's in.
Click to expand...
He was asking about suggestions for different lenses. But that doesn't mean I want to hire one to him if it's not appropriate.

The simple truth is that I know very little about macro photography. So if a customer who's at least done some macro thinks he needs a different lens, I don't - didn't - have the knowledge to put him straight.
 
Hi Stuart
I do a bit of macro of bugs and depth of field is a fact of life due to the closeness of the subject
If the 50mm is a 1:1 (true macro) lens then that will be the best tool for the job.

the longer macros are used to get a greater working distance from the subject for shy subjects
hope this helps :)
Pete
 
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